Reclaim
by Crazy Redd
Summary: The Borg have overtaken Earth, the Enterprise crew barely escape, can they reclaim their planet? A bit of Picard/Crusher, and maybe some Riker/Troi. Mostly Adventure and Sci-Fi, but there is some romance. Rated T just in case.
1. Escape

I do not Own Star Trek or it's characters, sorry they belong to Paramount.

Takes place after Beverly comes back, Before Wesley leaves, after Picard's capture by the Borg and if that all isn't possible just pretend it is. All of this is non canon obviously.

Enjoy!

"Decompression on Deck 6, Captain! Injuries reported throughout the ship!" Data shouted over the noise of surges and explosions from around the bridge.

"Evasive Maneuver Beta Alpha 6 now!" Picard yelled. The young helmsman quickly hit the keys on his terminal. The ship quickly turned dodging a phaser from the enemy's vessel.

"Get us out of here, now!" Jean-Luc Picard yelled as the ship rocked from the laser blows to the hull.

"But Captain!" Wesley yelled back in protest, "Earth will be captured!"

"And if we don't we will be destroyed!" the captain yelled back. The young ensign turned around in his seat and started hitting a few keys on his terminal.

"Course laid in Captain!" Wesley shouted, as the alarms rang through the bridge. The ship jerked to the side, making some tumble out of their chairs or loose balance.

"Forward Phasers offline Captain," Worf quickly yelled.

"Geordi can we jump to warp?" the captain asked through his combadge.

"I can give you a few seconds of warp 9 but that is about all I can give you," Geordi replied. Soon an explosion on the other end sounded.

"We can't hold up much longer, we're going to be bursting at the seams if we don't get out of here," Geordi yelled.

"Warp 9 Ensign. Now!" Jean-Luc yelled. With that word, Wesley pressed the button and the ship zoomed away. The sirens still were going off, and small surges of power were still lighting up the bridge with a few sparks. Within a few seconds, they stopped, and Picard quickly contacted Geordi once more.

"Geordi, we need those engines, how long?" Picard said quickly after tapping his badge.

"It could take days to restore everything, but I can give you warp 3 in a few hours," Geordi replied a few explosions going off in the background.

"Hurry, they could be following us, and I want to be able to outrun them," Picard replied, "Picard out." Jean-Luc looked around seeing most of the bridge crew slightly injured, but nothing too severe except a large beam that had fallen.

"Mr. Data I want you to help Mr. LaForge down in Engineering," Picard quickly said. The yellow android nodded and walked off the bridge, with another taking his station.

"Mr. Worf assemble a few teams and head to the more damaged parts, help make sure everyone gets out alive," the captain quickly ordered.

"Aye sir," the lieutenant replied and hurried out as well.

"Number One, gather the senior staff not currently working on repairing this ship and assemble them in the briefing room," the captain quickly barked.

"Yes sir!" Riker replied standing from his chair, and hosting a bruise on his temple. Jean-Luc looked around.

"Wesley, join us, you too Deanna," the captain said to the two people. The captain quickly hurried to the briefing room, needing to speak. Soon the senior staff, excluding those needed at the moment to repair the badly damaged ship, which turned out to be Riker, and Troi, plus Wesley.

"Everyone," the captain began, "As you all know, the Borg have attacked Earth to assimilate our species. We have been unsuccessful in protecting Earth, and as a result, we had to flee. There is no doubt in my mind at this very moment the Borg are assimilating our friends and family, and those we do not know. At this very moment, we cannot return and reclaim our planet, and we may never be able. But we can survive. I believe at this time we must find a place to settle on in the mean time. Any suggestions?" Jean-Luc looked around seeing his officers stumped.

"Well sir," Wesley Crusher spoke up, "There is Vulcan, and Andoria. And perhaps Veridian III, however a planet nearby is a pre industrial society."

"Vulcan and Andoria are out of the question, the Borg would most likely follow us there," Commander Riker replied.

"Veridian III might be are best bet, we should make sure to stay away from the other Veridians, and we will if we go there," Deanna Troi replied.

"No," Jean-Luc replied, "We cannot disrupt their society and we would if we stay there; the Borg could follow. Are there any other uninhabited M Class Planets anywhere?"

"Arcturus II," Wesley suggested.

"Any known societies nearby?" Picard asked.

"No sir, Class M planet about 50 light years away," Wesley stated.

"Good. When Engines are back online set a course for Arcturus II," Jean-Luc replied, "You may go Wesley."

"Aye, sir," Wesley replied and walked out of the room.

"Captain…" Deanna started.

"Yes Counselor?" Jean-Luc asked.

"Are you sure you want to do this, sir?" Deanna asked.

"Of course I am sure. Once the crew is safe, I will take a few officers and try to finish the Borg, it's the only way to free Earth," Jean-Luc replied.

"But sir! That would be suicide!" Riker interjected.

"It may seem it, but I feel we might have a fighting chance," Picard replied.

"And how so sir? Our ship was almost destroyed fighting them," Riker questioned.

"I don't know Number One, but we can't just sit around and do nothing," the captain replied.

"I know we can't, but committing suicide won't help either!" Riker insisted.

"Will!" Deanna interjected.

"I know Deanna, but we can't go in with guns blazing and come out alive with the Borg!" Riker insisted.

"That's a first," Deanna replied.

"Yeah but it's true," Riker insisted.

"Number One, please, we will come up with a plan before hand, but we can't just ignore what has happened. We have let our world be assimilated by the Borg, and we have to make sure it doesn't stay that way," Jean-Luc interjected, "We are done discussing this, dismissed." Deanna began to stand and leave, however William Riker remained standing at his seat.

"I said dismissed commander," the captain repeated. Riker stared at Picard for a second and then turned and left the room, obviously angry about this. Picard shook his head and exited himself. They need to make many more repairs before they would be able to set out again.


	2. Sleep

"How long until we reach Arcturus II?" The captain asked.

"At our current speed, approximately 1 hour, 12 minutes 34 seconds, sir," Data answered.

"Geordi how are the engines looking?" Jean-Luc asked through his combadge.

"We are lucky they are in the state they are in. Luckily the Borg didn't target our engines," Geordi answered, "We can have Warp 7 constant in a couple of hours."

"Good, and Mr. Worf how are the weapons looking?" Picard asked to the Klingon behind him.

"We have forward phasers and one aft torpedo up and running. All other systems still down," the lieutenant replied. The bridge remained silent for a few moments. The captain stood up. And looked around the bridge. He sighed. He quickly opened a channel to the whole ship.

"As you all know, or should know we have left Earth in the hands of the Borg. The Enterprise is going to try and free Earth. However, I regret to inform all of you that everyone will not be returning to Earth, nor may never return. We ask for everyone who will accept the risk of joining the Enterprise to try and defeat them to report to your senior officer. None of the children will be allowed to stay so we ask for the parents of them to stay with their children. Please understand the nature of this mission. No one will look down on you if you stay on Arcturus II; in fact, I implore you to stay on the planet. Picard Out," Jean-Luc said putting as much passion into it. The bridge fell silent again. The captain sat back down in his seat and sighed. Riker stood up.

"Captain you can count on me. I won't leave your side," Riker said.

"I second that sir," Worf's voice came.

"Me too captain," Wesley said looking back at the captain.

"Captain, I will go with you too, even if I am not a human," Data said turning his seat around.

"You know me Captain, you will need me," Deanna replied. Picard looked around at everyone in agreement.

"Thank you," Picard replied looking at all those people with a tear almost forming in his eyes, "I'll be in my ready room." Picard stood up and slowly walked through the bridge towards his ready room. The ship had been repaired substantially since they left. At least now, there were not beams hanging from the ceiling.

"Tea, Earl Grey, Hot," Picard said to the food replicator. At first, the replicator didn't work, but after a second, the cup appeared. The food replicators were the least of their worries in repairing the ship. Picard just needed some time away from the bridge, since he had been up there for days, about 9, almost 10 days without sleep. Jean-Luc had ignored the doctor's orders about sleep, but he felt he needed to stay awake on the bridge, and now he was regretting it. They had been able to get a constant speed with a few bursts of faster so they could get there faster. And now they were just an hour or so away from their new home, or at least the new home of many of them. A ring came from Jean-Luc's door.

"Come in!" Picard replied. The doors opened revealing the red headed Doctor Crusher.

"Jaen-Luc, what did I tell you about staying up this long?" Crusher said walking up to his desk.

"To not?" Jean-Luc replied grinning slightly, "I must say, Beverly, you were right; I feel I might be going insane of sleep deprivation."

"Jean-Luc, you need sleep. And I believe I can order you to," Beverly stated.

"I know I do, but we are so close, I can't go to sleep now," Picard replied leaning back in his chair and sipping his Earl Grey tea.

"Yes you can, don't make me order you," Beverly said smiling slightly.

"Here, how about if you stay on Arcturus II I promise to get 8 hours a night," Jean-Luc offered.

"How about I order you to get 8 hours a night, and I still go with you," Beverly countered.

"Oh Beverly what am I going to do with you?" Jean-Luc chuckled shaking his head.

"Oh I don't know," Beverly replied standing in front of Picard's desk.

"You won't change your mind?" Jean-Luc asked, not wanting her to go.

"Of course not, I won't change my mind because you ask me," Beverly said.

"Absolutely no way? It will be extremely dangerous to come," Picard asked taking another sip of his tea.

"That is exactly why I need to come Jean-Luc, otherwise there could be casualties, or more then necessary," The doctor pointed out.

"But Ogwana could do the same," Picard insisted.

"One more doctor could mean the difference between life and death," Beverly pressed.

"One more doctor might not matter," Jean-Luc insisted.

"But what if it does?" Beverly asked.

"It won't," Picard replied.

"Why not?" Beverly insisted and upon seeing him frown a bit, "You aren't expecting to win."

"No I am not," Jean-Luc replied grimacing at the thought.

"It's all the more reason for me to come along, Jean-Luc! I can't just go on knowing you all could be dead or even alive, wondering and waiting for the word," Beverly replied, "Everyone going, all of them are my friends. I can't just stay away from that."

"Fine… I guess… I won't stop you from coming," Jean-Luc replied.

"Good, now sleep Jean-Luc," Beverly pressed.

"Yes mam," Picard said standing up. He began heading to the door, but he stopped when he was next to Doctor Crusher, "I shall see you later Doctor." Picard looked at her smiling, and, most likely due to the sleep deprivation, he kissed her cheek softly. He sighed and left his ready room leaving the doctor. Beverly merely smiled slightly and left heading back to sickbay to attend a few of the last injured.


	3. The Device

"We here?" Commander Riker asked as they neared a planet on the view screen. Wesley merely nodded and stared at the planet.

"We are detecting a major sandstorm in the southern hemisphere," Data stated.

"It is for sure an M Class Planet?" Riker asked.

"Yes, there are a few mammals detected on the surface, and plenty of vegetation on the northern hemisphere," Data replied examining his terminal for information.

"Are there any problems on this planet? Why hasn't it been inhabited before?" Riker asked.

"The Romulans have before, years ago, but the civilization disappeared, no one knows what happened to them, therefore, most intelligent species capable of reaching this world avoid it," Data stated.

"The Romulans won't pose a threat?" Riker asked.

"No, I believe not," Data answered.

"You believe not? There is still a chance?" Riker said making absolutely sure.

"There is a .0005789 percent chance they will come by again. According to the data on the Romulans they believe this planet is a taboo," Data replied turning around in his seat and looking at the first officer.

"Taboo?" Riker asked surprised a little.

"Taboo, or to be forbidden to be used, mentioned, or –"Data defined.

"Yes, I know what taboo is, but why?" Riker asked.

"Unknown. All that is known is that the Romulans avoid this planet. If I were to guess, I would say it is because they lost almost 100,000 people," Data replied. Riker shook his head understanding at least a little bit.

"And no trace of the Borg nearby?" Riker inquired, "They didn't follow us?"

"No sir, but there is a .0025763 percent chance they did follow us," Data replied.

"I like those odds. Riker to Troi," the commander said tapping his badge on his uniform, "We are ready to land."

"Aye sir," Troi's voice came. Currently Deanna Troi was in the transporter room, with a few of the people that were going to set up the community on the planet. She wasn't planning to stay on Arcturus II but she would go down to help the residents to settle in. Afterward she would return to the ship and the mission to reclaim Earth would commence.

The transporters activated and the first group stepped on the pad.

"Energizing," Chief O'Brian said. Troi disappeared with the other people, all carrying boxes of supplies.

"Ok team, spread out, look for anything we can use," Troi replied. The people began moving out, setting up temporary tents, and then spreading out to scavenge as many supplies as possible, not wanting to deplete supplies from the ship, having much need in the upcoming mission.

Deanna walked through the nearby fields, a flat rolling plain, ended a few miles away by a forest of new plants. Suddenly instead of walking, she was falling, until she reached the ground. She pushed herself up and looked to see what made her trip. There was nothing there. She felt around on the ground knowing she had felt something hit her foot before she fell. Her hand hit something, something cold and smooth. A small metal and circular object rested beneath her fingers. She wrapped her fingers around the edge of the object and pulled it up. A tent appeared nearby on the plain. Troi was taken aback by this, but instead of contacting Enterprise, she crept up to the tent, which was dangerous since she hadn't taken a weapon.

She peered inside of the tent, wondering what it was. There was no person in the tent, but there were piles of raw materials and boxes of supplies. Deanna quickly tapped her badge.

"Troi to Enterprise," Deanna said.

"Counselor," Riker's voice came.

"I have found a cloaked tent in the plains. I don't know if someone lives here now, but there are tons of supplies. The tent looks to be Romulan," Troi stated examining the structure of the tent.

"Romulan? Stand by," Riker replied, but soon stated, "There are no humanoid life forms detected besides the people we have sent out. I would suggest leaving the supplies where they are for now, just in case. Counselor, we are going to beam the device aboard Enterprise for further examination."

"Aye sir," Troi said smiling. Soon the device disappeared from her hand, and Troi walked back to where they made camp.

Meanwhile up on Enterprise the device was transported directly to a secured room. Soon a door open and William Riker walked in to examine it. Behind him were a couple of blue uniformed officers, one male and one female. The talked forward, in front of the commander and neared the device. He pulled out a tri-corder as the woman walked forward, doing the same.

"There seems to be no danger, however the configuration is unknown. Not even the Romulans have had this technology that we know about," The male stated turning towards the commander. Just then, a bolt of electricity hit the two officers, narrowly missing the commander.

"Riker to sick bay, prepare for two to be beamed directly to sick bay," Riker yelled, acting quickly, "O'Brian! Beam Ensign Clark and Ensign Juarez directly to sickbay now!" Riker backed up out of the room as the two disappeared from the room.

"Commander LaForge, I get over here now," Riker said through his combadge, "And grab Mr. Data as well." Riker paced in front of the door unsure of what had happened with the disk like object. Soon the two began strolling down the corridor, not realizing someone had just gotten hurt.

"Finally, now inside there is a disk and it just electrocuted two Ensigns. I need you two to get in there, with some electric absorbing suits and tell me what the hell just happened," Riker replied clearly stress.

"Aye sir," Data replied, at the same time that Geordi said the same thing. They quickly went down the hall, returning a minute later in suits.

"Ok Commander we are going in," Geordi said, "Stand back just in case." Riker backed up and to the side, out of the direct path of the door. They opened the door and a few bolts of electricity flew out, but the suit absorbed the blows. When the electricity hit the wall, a small fire began, but was soon extinguished by William Riker.

"Should've just kept it on the planet," Riker mumbled to himself. At the moment, he didn't want to transport it back until he knew that the transporter would not be damaged by the transport.

Meanwhile on the other side of the door, Geordi and Data were walking towards the small disk, which was emitting hundreds of long streams of electricity. The two of them looked at each other and nodded, as if they were telepathically linked, and they both pulled out tri-corders.

"This is merely constructed by a piece of silver, at least it seems like it," Geordi said nearing even closer to disk.

"It seems that the electric power is emanating from the center, where there seems to be a small power disk. More readings. This is highly complex; it seems to be a cloaking device. However, it seems that it has been configured to the atmosphere of the planet, which is slightly different from the atmosphere on the Enterprise. I think that if we adjust the gravity to match that on the planet, it should be safe to transport it back," Data explained.

"Ah I see it's not the gas, but the pressure!" Geordi realized. Data nodded.

"Yes quite correct, it would have been completely safe if this room was pressurized like it was down on the planet. I do believe it is of Romulan Configuration," Data replied, "Let us tell Commander Riker." Geordi nodded and they headed to the door.

When they explained this to commander Riker soon, he ordered the room to be pressurized

"Good that thing is shut off, I believe we should wait for the captain's orders about what to do with it, as long as you are perfectly sure it won't activate like that ever again, Mr. Data," Commander Riker finally said once the thing was off.

"I am positive. Though I do believe if it had continued it could have disabled our ship even more than it was," Data replied.

"Interesting, when the captain awakes brief him over this. Geordi return to engineering we will need our engines in tip top shape," Commander Riker replied.


	4. Come Locutus

"Is this so?" Jean-Luc asked, sitting at the briefing table with the complete senior staff, "I really have been sleeping for almost twenty-four hours?"

"Yes Captain, you have, and a good thing too, we'll need you completely awake out there," Beverly replied.

"How are repairs going?" Picard asked.

"We have maximum shields, and our engines are almost up to what they normally are," Geordi replied.

"We have all of our weapons ready to go. However we do need to replenish out supply of torpedoes, we used the last of them before we left Earth," Worf replied. Picard nodded.

"What about that device Data briefed me on?" Picard asked. Riker stood up, and explained everything about how the device was a cloaking device and was destructive to the area surrounding.

"Yes, Data did well, not surprising," Picard said smiling and looking towards the android, "Can you figure out how to reproduce it Geordi?"

"All ready have, but I don't understand why you would want something like that," Geordi replied.

"All in due time," Jean-Luc replied, "Dismissed." Everyone stood up, Deanna headed back for the transporter room to continue help at the planet, and the rest headed for their stations, except the doctor and Commander Riker.

"Permission to speak frank sir?" Riker asked.

"Permission granted," Picard allowed.

"May I ask why you are doing this, sir?" Riker asked.

"It is the only hope to reclaim Earth as our own. Would you rather just stay here and ignore it?" Picard countered.

"No, but we're about to rush into battle, and either you don't have a plan or you are keeping us in the dark," Riker fiercely complained. Beverly remained seated, quietly hoping not to be brought into this argument, but waiting for something.

"You will have to be patient Will, trust me," Jean-Luc replied.

"I do trust you, but I also don't like being kept in the dark sir," Riker countered standing up.

"I know you don't Will, but please, calm down, and be patient. I know the Borg better than anyone else," Jean-Luc said remaining calm and seated.

"Fine, you are the Captain. Please don't do anything stupid, sir, I want this as much as you do," Will said walking towards the door. Picard looked back, and right before Riker left he stopped at the door.

"I won't Will," Picard said turning back around. At that the commander walked out of the room, leaving him and Beverly alone.

"Jean-Luc, I want to know if you're all right," Beverly sighed.

"Yes I am feeling just fine, why?" Picard snapped.

"Because of just that, you seem so tense lately," Beverly replied.

"And you aren't? We just left our world to be assimilated by the Borg. By now, we are the last non-assimilated humans left. They destroyed each outpost after assimilating as many as they could, each and every outpost. The Vulcans are most likely next, then other species. If we don't stop them, no one will be able to. The Borg won't stop until every species is Borg," Jean-Luc spoke. He had history with the Borg and knew them well. A little too well.

"I know Jean-Luc, but that doesn't mean we should jump into battle. We left Earth to give hope that someday we could reclaim Earth. Someday, Jean-Luc, but that doesn't have to be today," Beverly said getting up and walking behind his chair, "You know it's true." That last part Beverly had bent down and whispered into his ear before exiting the room.

"I know it is not true…" Picard called, but the doctor was gone out of the room and no one was around to hear him.

That night, when Jean-Luc was sleeping, his dreams taunted him. He was on the Borg ship, hearing the voice of the Queen, he was not alone in his head any longer. There were millions of thoughts, all being processed easily at once.

"We are coming Locutus, we are coming. Come to us, and we will not follow, come Locutus. Come…" the voices rang all at once. It was enough to wake a person up, but Jean-Luc could not. He stared out of a regenerator that he had once used when he had been assimilated. The voices kept saying come over and over, like it was some kind of chant. Picard jolted up out of his sleep finally. He was breathing heavily, and sweating all over.

He hurried down the halls to sickbay. He quickly entered to find Alyssa Ogwana and Beverly Crusher in her office talking. Through her window, Beverly saw Picard charge in and was suddenly scared. She dismissed Ogwana and went over to Jean-Luc.

"What's wrong?" Beverly said.

"B-Borg… I heard them, in my head," Picard breathed. Beverly's eyes widened.

"You heard them? When?" Beverly asked quickly, ushering him onto a table and scanning his head.

"Just now… They… They want me to come," Picard breathed.

"Do you know why?" Beverly said still scanning him.

"No they just kept saying for me… to come to them, and … if not they would… they would follow us," Jean-Luc breathed.

"There's nothing here," Beverly said finished scanning him, "Either you are going senile, just had a nightmare, or there is something I can't detect. There is not much we know about the Borg's telepathic link. I would think it was just a nightmare, and you are just fine, come on you still need rest." Picard remained sitting on the table.

"It wasn't a dream, and I'm not senile. It felt so real, like I was really there," Picard insisted.

"Some dreams can be so vivid they are like that. There are rare cases, when they actually die in their sleep because of it," Beverly sighed.

"No! It wasn't a dream, I just know it," Picard insisted.

"Then let's worry about it later, it's late, and I need to get some sleep, and so do you Jean-Luc," Beverly said shaking her head, "If you still think it tomorrow then I'll take another look at you, ok?" Picard nodded, and stood up. He was a sucker when it came to her. At least she was humoring him, Riker wouldn't have believed him, nor anyone besides Beverly and perhaps Deanna.

"Fine, just make sure you get enough rest doctor," Picard said as he stopped at the door turning around.

"Is that an order?" Beverly said a grin growing.

"No, just a friendly suggestion, sleep well doctor," Picard said turning around and walking out of the sickbay. There wasn't something right about all of this, but Picard left that for later, since he was exhausted even after the long sleep he had earlier.


	5. Beginning of the End

The next few days Jean-Luc was filled with tension, wanting to hurry up the construction of the community they needed. Thanks to Geordi the device that they had found was planted all around the settlement, hiding them from the Borg. Picard kept in mind that with this technology they would be hidden by the Borg, if they weren't assimilated, or at least he thought that much. There was no way to really know, but it was worth a shot. Soon the settlement was masked by the devices, proven they were no harm beforehand. Everyone was tense, even when Deanna Troi had returned to the ship. They were about to face the hardest battle of their life, and it seemed like a doomed mission. Only a little over a hundred people stayed on the planet, most the parents of children.

Currently Picard was sitting alone in the briefing room, not wanting to be disturbed by anyone. The door opened allowing one to enter, but Jean-Luc didn't notice.

"Captain," the person said from behind, causing startle in the captain.

"Oh Deanna, you scared me," Jean-Luc said turning around seeing the ship's counselor standing at the door, "Come in, come in." Deanna walked forward and sat in a chair next to his.

"Captain, tell me what is wrong, I can tell you are stressed," Deanna said.

"Well we are about to go against the Borg and it is likely we will lose, and not very many want to stay. And… And the community doesn't have a leader," Picard hesitated, "Who isn't stressed?"

"Captain, you know that is not the reason. You can trust me, why?" Deanna replied telling he was holding something back. Jean-Luc remained silent for a minute, unsure of what he would say.

"The Borg, I heard them not long ago, Jean-Luc simply said.

"What? I thought your connection was broken," Troi said astounded.

"It was, but I know it was them," Picard replied, "They said they wanted me, or they would follow and find me."

"Have you told this to anyone else?" Deanna replied keeping her cool.

"I did contact Doctor Crusher the night it happened, but she just said it was just a nightmare," Picard sighed.

"But you know it wasn't?" Deanna questioned.

"I could hear them just as clearly as I could hear you. Even if I thought it was, there is still a chance it wasn't, and I can't take that chance. The existence of humans are in our hands, if they can find me, then they will, and if we are here, then humans will no longer be around," Picard explained, "That is why I want to leave so quickly."

"I understand. It must be hard to stay here, and feel you are endangering your crew and your friends. Nevertheless, know this; we are here to stay by your side. We do not care how dangerous you are to be with, we are your crew and friends. We are willing to die to keep you safe," Deanna stated.

"Deanna…" Picard said as Deanna began to rise.

"Yes Captain?" She asked.

"I want you to stay here. The people down on the planet need you most of all. The Borg are easy to read for me, since I have been one of them, so please stay here," the captain requested.

"For you I will, since you asked nicely. I won't like it, but I will comply with your wishes, unlike the doctor," Deanna replied smiling and heading out of the room.

Picard sighed and sat up in his chair, laying his hands on the table and covering his face. They were facing the same thing that Guinan's people had before, but they were going to stay together and try to fight. Guinan was one of the many that requested to stay on the ship, most likely wanting to go after the Borg. Picard was thinking of a plan, one that would save the ship and her crew, but everything could go wrong with one minor mistake. He was not even sure it could ever work.

The next day Deanna was beamed down to the planet, with heartfelt good-byes, including Commander Riker who hugged her before she left. When they were sure that everything was ready to leave, they left. At high warp it would take a while, given them time to prepare even more.

"Mr. Crusher, set a course for Earth," Picard ordered, "Maximum Warp." With the new improvements that Geordi had installed, they would get there in about 7 days, three days faster than their trip to the planet. Wesley had miscalculated the distance making them arrive faster than they originally thought they would, but they were prepared for the trip this time. Picard was normally in his ready room going over everything in his head, alone. Riker was at the helm, and Geordi was at the engines making sure everything was well. At Arcturus II Deanna was organizing everything, thinking about the enterprise wishing them good luck. Crusher was finishing reports on the injuries that had been sustained, and the various other crew members were trying to relax, overcrowding the holodecks and 10 Forward.

The up and coming fight would be a terrible fight, one that many could lose their lives over. Then just an hour away from getting to Earth, Picard entered the bridge for the first time since they had left, forgetting that he needed to show his strength and his duty to be on the bridge.

"Slow to impulse," Picard said as they neared Jupiter, where Jupiter Station had been destroyed. The ensign did. Picard walked over to his seat, and sat quietly.

"Scans?" Picard said addressing Mr. Data.

"Picking up 10 Borg vessels nearby, and 10 billion people on Earth, all Borg. All human stations have been destroyed," Data stated looking at his consol. Riker looked at Picard worried, but Picard stayed stone faced.

"Mr. Worf keep weapons powered down, don't forget they don't attack those who aren't threatening them," Picard ordered. The ship remained silent.

"The Borg are hailing us," Data stated.

"Open a channel," Picard ordered.

"Bring us Locutus, or be destroyed. Resistance is futile," The voice of the Borg said before cutting off the commission. Riker looked at Picard again who stood up.

"Don't even think about it," Riker responded.

"Wasn't planning on it. Mr. Worf, prepare to arm weapons," Picard replied.

"Aye," Worf replied.

"1 Borg Cube in viewing range sir," Data stated.

"On screen," Picard ordered. The screen flashed to where they could see a nearby Borg vessel, not too far off. The sight was familiar. The large cube was metal and floating in space. A perfect construct for the 'perfect' species. Jean-Luc stood up and looked towards the Klingon.

"Fire!"


	6. Arrival

Ok when you first start reading this, it may look like it's the end of the story.

It's not.

If you read it all, it will make sense.

Creates a sense of mystery this way. Thank you for keeping up with the story.

And Sorry it's a bit short.

It seemed years ago that the Enterprise had left, when in reality it had been only a few weeks. Deanna walked through the settlement, saddened because they had not heard word from the Enterprise in weeks. It most likely meant that they had failed, or were making their journey back.

Deanna was down since she had no clue what was happening out there. She began to wonder why she even allowed herself to come down here.

"Counselor," A lady from a nearby tent said.

"Yes?" Deanna replied walking over to the tent and entering.

"We are picking up a ship entering this system, can't tell if it is the Borg or the Enterprise," the lady said.

"Thank you Ensign Wilson. Are they sending any messages or signals?" Deanna asked.

"No, none at all," the ensign replied.

"Contact me when you can see which ship it is. We need to prepare to move, just in case it is the Borg," Deanna replied.

"But why? We are cloaked," Ensign Wilson asked curiously.

"Because if they were assimilated then they know where we are, if we move, then they will have a hard time finding us," Deanna replied, and the ensign nodded in understanding.

"How long until they reach us?" Deanna asked.

"Half an hour at the most, a few minutes if they are still in warp," the ensign answered.

"Ok, still nothing?" Deanna asked.

"No… wait I'm getting something… it's the Enterprise!" the ensign exclaimed.

"Can we hail them?" Deanna asked.

"No but we can send an audio only signal though," the ensign replied.

"Do it," Deanna replied. Something wasn't right, something didn't seem right at all.

"Channel open," the ensign said.

"Troi to Enterprise," Deanna said, "Do you read me?"

"Yes Counselor we do," Picard's voice responded, and Deanna sighed.

"What happened? Did you all succeed? Or withdraw?" Deanna asked.

"We won," Picard simply replied, "We shall talk with you when we arrive."

"Yes sir," Deanna said and the transmission ended. Deanna's face had a smile that spread like wildfire across her face. It seemed as though they were going to go home.

"We are here Deanna, prepare for us to beam down," Picard said a few minutes later.

"We are ready," Deanna said, "Ensign decloak us." The ensign clicked a button that connected all the cloaking devices to shut them off.

A beaming light appeared in front of Deanna, and out came 6 people. But they weren't the people they were expecting. It was Picard, and Wesley, and a few others, but… they were Borg.


	7. Deassimilation

Upon seeing the people, transformed into Borg, Deanna gasped and backed up slowly, people began coming out of their new homes, slowly as they Borg appeared. Picard, Wesley, Geordi, all of them were Borg. People began running, causing a Borg to follow and attack them. Deanna stood paralyzed in fear, and some of the residents were as well, or they didn't know what was happening.

"Resistance is futile," Picard, or now Locutus said, "We are the Borg. Prepare to be assimilated."

"O-Ok we will, but can you tell me what happened first," Deanna said, trying to keep the Borg occupied, but it became even more dubious as more Borg beamed down.

"No, you will be assimilated and then you would know," Locutus replied.

"Give us a few minutes?" Deanna asked trying to gain time.

"No, you will be assimilated," Locutus stated.

"Then why haven't you yet?" Deanna asked.

"We… don't… know," Locutus replied. Deanna was surprised at this.

"Why not now?" Deanna asked.

"We… don't know. We are alone. We are separated. We can only hear ourselves," Locutus responded.

"I see, so there is some kind of shield here preventing you to join your Collective. You hear that Geordi?" Deanna said, extremely brave to do this. Most would be paralyzed in fear, but Deanna was there, talking to the Borg that were separate.

"I am 6 or 10, not Geordi anymore," Geordi's Borg self answered.

"Sorry, 6 of 10, you hear that?" Deanna said.

"Yes I did," Geordi's Borg self replied.

"I?" Deanna questioned smiling.

"We said we," Geordi quickly said.

"No I don't think so, I am pretty sure I heard I," Deanna said, not moving in fear of them assimilating her.

"No you did not," Locutus stated, "But we remember, we are now separate. We are Borg, but alone. This planet, it doesn't like us. Enterprise, Beam us up." No answer. Nothing happened. The ship remained in orbit silently.

"The atmosphere," Wesley's Borg self stated, truthfully unsure, "Romulans must have set up a shield, we cannot communicate through it."

"Then why don't you stop assimilating us, and let us help you get back to the Collective," Deanna suggested, thinking of deception, "If you assimilate us you won't know how to."

"If we assimilate you we will have all of your knowledge," Locutus said.

"Not unless you can transfer it to your Collective," Deanna noted.

"Fine we will allow it," Locutus replied after thinking about it for a little while.

"Good, so I am allowed to help you out?" Deanna asked.

"Yes, but the others will be assimilated," Locutus replied.

"No! I need them without them you will not be reunited with your collective," Deanna insisted.

"We will allow them to stay, but afterwards we will assimilate you; find the source of the shield and destroy it," Locutus stated.

"Locutus, that will not be possible. We know why we can't. There are elements in the atmosphere that block us. They cannot be harmed down here." Geordi interjected.

"Why didn't we detect it before?" Locutus asked.

"Very faint, only detected by our visor," Geordi replied.

"Then we will either let them come or die," Locutus stated.

"We will submit ourselves willingly," Deanna lied.

"Very well, bring us to the collective now," Locutus demanded.

"We will, just let us work on it, stay put, and don't assimilate anyone else, it would be… futile," Deanna stated. She looked around at the Borg, not noticing Data or Riker, or even Doctor Crusher. The rest she recognized from sessions they had before, including Barclay.

"Agreed," Locutus said his eerie appearance unsettling to the ones frozen in fear nearby. Deanna walked over to a few ensigns nearby, slightly afraid they would lunge at her and assimilate her. It really was a perfect planet to be on. It seemed that it was the only Borg proof place people could live on.

"Locutus, we need you," Deanna called. The Borg walked over stiffly.

"Yes?" Locutus asked.

"We need to learn more about your species without being assimilated, please?" Deanna said.

"I will allow it," Locutus said and lied himself on the table.

The days went by as Deanna continued keeping the trust of the helpless Borg from their ship. The Enterprise remained in orbit according to scans. As Deanna stealthily turned them back into humans, in small enough increments they had no detection of it, up in the ship something was stirring.

Before the assimilation of the crew, three passengers had made a plan, one not shared with anyone and under no detection by filming equipment. The three were now at the air lock of the ship, opening up the hatch. Riker, Data and Crusher had created realistic bodies that were unable to tell if it was real or not and faked their deaths. They quickly masked their bio-signs and headed out onto the top of the ship. They routed oxygen, for the two that needed it, from the ship undetected by the Borg or anyone. They had ridden on the ship all the way from Earth to Arcturus II. It was quite a bold move, since it was dangerous being on the ship at warp, and they were quite lucky they didn't die, or be dismembered in Data's case. Sneaking Data away was the hardest, but it worked making his fake death be that he was disintegrated. The three had finally decided it was time since they were at the planet now. They all headed for the airlock and made it inside.

"Ok the Borg won't know we are still alive," Riker said as they entered the airlock, "But they will adjust quickly. What we need to do is put up the shields at maximum breaking their link from the collective and perhaps there will not be as many deaths."

"So we will head to engineering, the fastest route would be up the turbo lifts, but that would be dangerous, so we should use the passages in the walls," Beverly nodded.

"Correct Doctor. Once we do that, they should be reliant on themselves, and perhaps we can change them back to humans, and their original species," Data replied.

"Sounds like it's our only hope," Riker replied.

"It is," Data plainly stated. They looked at one another, well Riker and Crusher did, Data just stared ahead.

"Still have phasers on stun and rotating frequencies, I don't want one of us to kill a crew member," Commander Riker replied looking at them. The two of them nodded and headed for the door that separated them from the Borg. When the door opened, no Borg were present, so they hurried to the wall and entered the cramped passage behind it. Data took the lead and Riker took the rear, keeping the doctor in the middle because she wasn't as trained in fighting. They climbed various ladders, climbed through small crawl spaces and were only half way to engineering when the doctor pleaded for rest, to which they allowed a few minutes, before moving on.

Their bio-signs still masked the sensors didn't pick up the three moving through the passages. When they finally reached engineering, they quickly moved in. The Borg were walking around the engineering section, ignoring the three who had just entered. The three stealthily moved through the room, towards the controls.

"They don't see us as a threat, let's hurry up," Riker whispered. The three moved over to the shield control. Data quickly pressed a sequence of buttons raising shields to the maximum, where they were like those in the brig. The Borg quickly turned to the three. But they didn't do anything else, they just stood there. It was an odd eerie feeling that filled the room. Crusher walked up to one and touched it bravely on the shoulder, but it didn't move.

"They have had an odd reaction, they have all shut down," Beverly said fascinated, "Help me get them to sickbay. I think I can turn them human enough to act like one, and remember." Riker and Data nodded moving the motionless people to the sickbay. One by one, they slowly became half Borg and half human. It was like they were humans with a few Borg enhances, making them see sharper and process things quickly. This process took days, and within those days the people grew even more worried that the Borg would come to retrieve them, but they never did. It was like the Borg didn't even know they had lost a hundred or more Borg.

Now it was time to plan a better approach, or just leave Earth alone. They were safe from the Borg on Arcturus II because of the extra gasses on the planet blocking the Borg transmissions.


	8. Rebuilding

A question still remains. Where they able to bring back their human side in all of the Borg? The answer would be a simple no. Some responded well to the treatment and some… did not. When Locutus turned back into Picard, who was the first to respond well to the treatment, he insisted they go back, knowing it was a matter of time before they came here to destroy them, from space after they discover they had been broken off once entering the atmosphere.

Picard transported back to the ship, not knowing that the borg up there had also been cut off by the great masterminds Riker, Crusher and Data. He expected to hide while up there, and take control, ejecting the Borg into space.

"Captain!" a familiar voice came as Jean-Luc transported directly to sickbay, where he assumed the least amount of Borg would be located, given they didn't really use medicines to heal, just the nanoprobes. Jean-Luc looked to find Beverly and Riker there, with a phaser pointed at him. Of course he still looked Borg to them, given there wasn't enough time to remove the implants.

"Will! Beverly!" Picard said startled holding a phaser aloft, having been prepared for some Borg here.

"Jean-Luc? Are you actually there?" the doctor asked surprised, yet with frighten in her voice.

"Yes it's me. No time to explain, how the hell did you survive? I thought you three died!" the captain exclaimed.

"Simple," Data said coming from around the corner, "We faked our deaths when the Borg had assimilated everyone but us. We hid on the hull of the ship."

"Now we've told you want you want, prove to us you really are the captain and not Locutus," Riker said disbelievingly.

"I use the word 'I' because I am Jean-Luc Picard. How do you want me to prove it?" Jean-Luc asked.

"Are Deanna and the others still on the planet… not assimilated?" Riker asked still suspicious.

"Yes, they are. A few we assimilated before she managed to get me to act human again, Number One," Picard replied. Riker tapped his badge keeping on finger on the trigger just in case.

"Riker to Troi do you read me?" Riker said. A moment of silence followed. She didn't seem to answer. "Seems you lied Locutus." Then Picard shook his head unsure of why. Suddenly a voice came.

"Sorry Commander, The counselor is currently busy, and struggling with the Borg. She isn't a doctor… Wait… Commander Riker? What the-?" the voice replied surprised.

"Thank you, we'll explain later," Riker replied and lowered his phaser, "You're back Captain!" Beverly peered at Riker and smiled, and went up to Picard and hugged him, and he hugged her back.

"Yes, glad to be back. But not for long. How has it been going up here. I assume you figured out how to disable the Borg up here?" The captain replied, still in the embrace, which Beverly then broke to speak.

"Well Jean-Luc, we have a few members humanized, like you are, but some aren't responding to the treatment," Beverly sighed.

"Send the ones you can't do yet down to the planet, if they reactivate they will be severed from the collective," the captain stated, and ordered.

"Aye sir. I will do it, since the doctor is needed here," Data remarked and left the room.

"I'll help him. I'll go down to the planet and ensure they get here," Riker replied, actually just wanting to go down and see a dear friend on the planet below.

"Make it so," Picard replied, and Riker left. Everything felt odd with the Borg arm and implants, at least the eye piece was taken off, but the rest had remained on him. Picard's skin wasn't the pale of the Borg anymore, but his apricot French skin pigment.

"Are we going back Jean-Luc?" Beverly asked applying a hyperspray in a Borg on her table.

"What other choice do we have?" Picard asked.

"We could live down on the planet, the Borg won't bother us there, I don't think," Beverly replied.

"If you want to, be my guest, but I can't live knowing I didn't do anything to reclaim Earth, and whatever Borg are there now," Jean-Luc replied.

"I won't go without you Jean-Luc," Beverly countered.

"Then I guess it's settled. Anyways if we fail again I'll need someone to fake their own death again and save us," Picard joked.

"You know if you go back they'll just assimilate you again," Beverly replied.

"I would rather die than go through that again. Needless to say I won't let them. They only want me because the… the Borg Queen wanted me as her… counterpart. Not a very appealing thought to me," Jean-Luc joked.

"Now there's another? How many people are attracted to you know? A million?" Beverly joked back.

"Ah not a million, just 127 women as I count," Jean-Luc laughed as the Borg in front of the two of them woke up.

"Where am I?" the Borg shouted out interrupting the conversation.

"It's ok, you're on the Enterprise Ensign, find Data in the transporter room, he'll explain everything," Beverly said calming the woman down. She smiled at the success. The Ensign nodded and walked out of the room.

"Is it really that easy?" Picard asked.

"Oh god no," Beverly replied, "Depends on the person, one took me hours before working."

"Ah. And is the treatment just a way to block the Borg side of them?" Jean-Luc asked.

"Yes," Beverly simply answered. The two of them remained silent, but they also gathered Borg and tried treating them, though it only worked a good dozen times after about a hundred of them.

Meanwhile back at the planet, Riker was explaining what had happened to Troi, as she tried her own variation of the treatment, though it took a lot longer.

"You sure I can't do much else to help?" Riker asked.

"You are already applying the hyperspray, and doing the initial shutdown before treating, but I guess you could also help by keeping me distracted," Deanna replied smiling working on a Borg.

"Distracted why?" Will Riker asked.

"Just so I don't get too enveloped in this, and so I can relax. Most of the failures is because I am really stressed Will," Deanna replied looking up for a second, before returning to the Borg.

"Ah I see, so you want me to relieve your stress? Works for me," Will replied grinning ear to ear, "So how has life on Arcturus treating you?" Will walked over and stood next to her.

"Oh splendid, though every day I missed all of you," Deanna replied, "I kept wondering what happened, and after a week, I thought you all died, or were assimilated."

"I understand, while on the ship I thought you and the others were getting assimilated as we came back on the ship. Knew it wouldn't be worth the risk to try to come down, since it had already been awhile before we could," Will replied, "Oh you missed a button." He reached over and pressed a button on the eye piece she was working on getting off, "Would've pulled out his eye."

"Sorry Will," Deanna sighed, "At least we know of a place safe from the Borg, and if I modify the cloaking devices we found I know we can hide from the Borg if they try to attack."

"Hey now, you don't think we aren't going to try again?" Will asked.

"Of course you will, since I know you and the captain won't ever give up," Deanna replied smiling once more.

"And if we fail we can always try again, or at least we would know we tried our best," Will replied.

"I want to come with you this time," Deanna stated.

"Wait… what? What made you change your mind?" Riker asked.

"Everything. The few weeks thinking you were dead, or as good as dead was hell, I don't think I could do that again," Deanna answered.

"You won't have to, you can always come if you want," Will replied, "But it would be extremely dangerous."

"I know," Deanna replied.

"So you really missed me?" Will asked smugly.

"Of course you're my friend," Deanna replied nearly laughing at the stupid question.

"You know I would miss you too something happened to you?" Will asked.

"Well yeah, of course you would," Deanna answered scanning the head of the Borg, or Ensign in front of her.

"Good," Will said, "So who's the lucky Borg this time around?"

"Wesley," Deanna replied simply.

"Crusher? Wow, it's kind of hard to tell when he's like this. Just wait until Beverly hears you almost pulled his eye out," Will joked.

"Don't tell her," Deanna replied playfully hitting his arm.

"Hey now I'm going to have to write you up for assault on a commanding officer," Will joked.

"Come on Will," Deanna said with her wide smile making her even better.

"Sorry, just having a little fun," Will replied.

"You know when you were gone, I thought I wouldn't ever see you again, and I came to realize something," Deanna said randomly out of nowhere.

"And what was that?" Will inquired.

"That…" Deanna said hesitating, "That I… I never got to tell you, that… That I wished I came with you all, and died with you."

"Really? That's it?" Will asked a bit let down, "I realized I never should have put my job before you. I still would've been able to be a first officer, but before this incident I never advanced."

"Oh you know as well I do that you are merely waiting for the Enterprise, and if you hadn't put your career first, you would be a Borg on Earth, or some place across the galaxy on a Borg cube by now," Deanna replied, "So it was a good thing."

"Ugh… what happened?" Wesley said sitting up.

"It's ok, just relax, you're safe now Wesley. Will could you escort Wesley over to the briefing tent and then bring me another?" Deanna said, "Wesley don't worry, your mom will be happy when she hears about you."

"Data to Troi," Data's voice came.

"Troi here," Deanna replied as Will left the tent with Wesley.

"The crew up here are all ready to go, or the doctor was unable to humanize them," Data said.

"Ok, beam up all of the people in the briefing tent and send the Borg Beverly was unable to humanize down here," Deanna replied.

**(Ok Everyone, sorry for the wait, I had exams and such. I believe there will be only one more chapter, maybe two at the most. Thank you for reading!)**


	9. Attack

"Nice and easy ensign," the captain said as they maneuvered into the Terran Solar System. Wesley nodded as he steered the ship in and out of several cubes.

"Transporter rooms ready?" the captain asked.

"Aye sir," Chief O'Brian replied through the combadge.

"Energize. Maximum Warp Mr. Crusher, get as much distance from the cubes as possible," Picard said as calmly as one could. The ship zoomed away, heading for no particular heading.

"Status," the captain requested.

"All but one Borg cube disabled," Data replied.

"Good bring us back ensign. Prepare weapons Mr. Worf," Picard said. The crew had just been assimilated, and unassimilated within weeks, therefore they were undermanned, and most of them still looked like Borg, with metal arms and all. Everyone except Will Riker, who was to the captain's right, and Deanna Troi, who was to the captain's left, looked like Borg, well except Data, which was to be expected. It truly was an odd sight, Borg against Borg, and Borg working with humans and non-Borg.

"We are withing weapons range of 10 Borg cubes, all still disabled," Data replied.

"Those cloaking devices work wonders," Commander Riker stated.

"Yes, it is a great piece of technology, Mr. Worf Fire," the captain replied. The phasers went off and destroyed cube after cube, and since the cubes couldn't shield themselves, or adapt to the rotating frequencies, they were defenseless.

"The armed cube is heading for us. It's hailing us," Data stated.

"Continue firing, can't have them adapt to the cloaking device, open a channel Mr. Data," the captain ordered.

"We are the Borg. Resistance is Futile. Your life as you know it is over, you will be assimilated," The eerie voice of the Borg stated.

"Turn them off," the captain said disappointed.

"Wait," the Borg's voice came, "If you give us Locutus, we will free all you humans, and leave you alone." Picard looked at the screen curiously.

"And how do we know you aren't lying?" Picard asked.

"You're not considering this captain are you?" Riker said outraged, not wanting his captain to go away like this.

"Yes I am, now answer me Borg, how?" Picard countered.

"We will disarm our ships, and leave this sector after you come," The borg replied.

"How do I know that?" Picard retorted.

"You don't. You will comply or you will be destroyed," the borg countered.

"Fine if you want me that badly then, fire on the Borg Cube Mr. Worf," Picard answered and the channel closed. The phasers went off, but the cube fired upon the Enterprise as well. A large explosion knocked the officers standing down, and sent sparks flying.

"Aft Torpedoes down, Aft Phasers down. Shields at 56 percent," Worf quickly reported.

"Keep firing," Picard replied. Another hit from the Borg ship rocked the ship once more.

"Shields at 6 percent, another hit like that and we'll all be dead," Worf stated.

"Then we can't let them hit us," the captain said, "Ensign Evasive Maneuver Beta Pi Alpha." The ship moved around in space, and another shot came from the Borg ship, but missed them.

"Geordi get our shields up higher, fast as you can," Picard said through the com link.

"I can try sir, but I can't tell you if I can get them high enough for another hit like that," Geordi replied.

"Well, try," the captain responded.

"Keep firing with all we've got Worf," The captain ordered. Just then, a fire from the Borg ship hit the Enterprise blasting off a deck.

"Deck 24 is no longer attached to the Enterprise," Data reported.

Just then voices started talking in Jean-Luc's head. The Borg were trying to reach him again.

"Ensign. Collision Course with the cube," Picard ordered. Another hit and an engine flew off, "Fastest you can give us."

"Yes sir," Wesley replied swallowing. He knew it. The queen was aboard that ship, he just could tell. If they managed to destroy the cube all the Borg would be free. The newly assimilated Humans might be able to show the way to the other Borg. If they did this, the Borg no longer would be a threat.

"Abandon ship if you want to live," Picard ordered. Although everyone really wanted to live, or most, most people stayed, knowing that if this didn't work they would most likely become Borg once more. The ship went full speed ahead, or at least the fastest they could, and slammed into the ship. The Borg vessel was destroyed, and so was the Enterprise.

**Ok I know you all probably think this is the end…**

**It's not. All I will say is that somehow they all will survive and live**

**Happily Ever After. Just wait until the next chapter.**


	10. The End

And then everything was gone. The Enterprise slammed into the Borg Cube killing the queen, and everyone on the Enterprise.

Everything was white, there was nothing around him, except the white. Slowly he rose and looked around, seeing just the white that was before him. He looked down seeing himself in his uniform, unsure of what was happening. It was familiar in a way.

"Jean-Luc! Nice of you to join me!" a voice Picard recognized came.

"Q!" Picard shouted, not seeing anyone around him, or anything, "What have you done?"

"Well isn't that rude? I thought we could exchange a friendly hello before you ask questions." Q replied.

"I don't want to play your games, tell me Q, now," Jean-Luc ordered. Just then, the human form of Q walked forward, appearing from thin air.

"But that wouldn't be fun, now would it?" Q replied laughing and walking forward towards Picard, "I'll tell you, if you answer me first. Why did you not just give yourself up?"

"It was a chance to free all of the Borg from the collective. I hoped that maybe the collective would no longer be there if the queen was destroyed," Picard answered, somewhat annoyed with Q, "Now what did you do?"

"Ah, you won't like it," Q said smiling with the hint of mischief he always did, "Let's see I've been watching you, and I must say your doctor is attractive."

"Get on with it, Q," Picard growled.

"Oh I made it so Earth was captured by the Borg," Q answered.

"What? Why? You little-" Jean-Luc replied not believing that he could have done something like this. It was just completely cruel, and didn't seem to have a lesson.

"Hey now, calm down Jean-Luc. I wanted to see if you would give up your life, and your crew's life for the Borg. All your species was freed, but you died, along with the ones you love, a big sacrifice you made there," Q laughed putting his hands up as if he was caught by the police.

"You..." Jean-Luc retorted, but calmed himself, "Undo it, change it all back, now."

"Nah I don't feel like it. Why should I?" Q asked smiling widely.

"Because… then you won't have me, or the humans as your play pets anymore," Jean-Luc replied.

"Oh! So you would let me play with you now? I thought you didn't like me messing with you," Q said acting surprised.

"We don't, but you still did anyways, just to satisfy your want for 'fun'" Picard answered, truthfully, even if he hated Q with a passion for all that he did to them.

"That is true Jean-Luc, but I don't think that's enough reason," Q replied pacing in front of him.

"What other reason could there be?" Jean-Luc asked confidently.

"Oh I don't know… wait I've got it! Get on your knees and beg me to undo it, yes that will suffice," Q laughed not expecting him to reply, but then Jean-Luc dropped to his knees and hung his head.

"Please Q, give me back my world, and my life," Jean-Luc begged, with a quiver in his voice.

"I don't know, you don't seem too wanting," Q replied.

"Please! I don't want to die, I don't want to lose Will, I don't want to lose my crew. I don't want to lose Beverly. I want to continue living, the world I had before we lost it to the Borg. I would die over and over again if it would mean saving them. Please, don't let them die with me. I want everyone, Humans, Vulcans, Klingons, everyone to live happily in a peaceful world. If that means I have to die, then so be it," Jean-Luc pleaded and looked up at Q, a tear in his eye. Q sighed.

"Fine, but only because you asked nicely, Jean-Luc," Q replied snapping his fingers. The white drowned away and Picard's surroundings changed, to the bridge of his Enterprise. He looked around and smiled spotting Riker, Deanna, Wesley and even Worf, no signs of Borg assimilation or anything.

"What just happened captain? Last I remember we were… slamming into the Borg ship," Riker asked.

"Our friend Q paid me a visit," Jean-Luc replied and the crew on the bridge nodded.

"I see, and somehow you had him keep us alive? What else did he change?" Wesley asked turning around in his chair.

"He said he would change it back to the way it was before the Borg attacked Earth," Jean-Luc replied, "Mr. Worf hail the nearest starbase, and check all systems. Mr. Crusher set in a course for Earth, I think we all need a little bit of short leave," Jean-Luc said before sitting down in his seat.

"They are responding captain," Worf stated.

"Put them through," Jean-Luc replied and a face appeared on the screen, an Benjamin Sisko from Deep Space Nine, "Sisko! What a sight for sore eyes."

"Right, Captain what do you want?" Sisko replied.

"What is the last thing you remember?" Picard asked.

"I was working in my office and looking through reports, and then you hailed, why?" Sisko asked.

"No reason, thank you for this information. We'll be on our way now," Picard replied. The transmission ended, and Picard looked around proudly.

"I am going to get checked up on by the doctor, and then get some sleep," Jean-Luc said standing up, "I suggest you do the same." Picard headed for the turbolift and told it to go to sickbay. As the turbolift moved Jean-Luc leaned against the wall, remembering everything that had just happened. Everything seemed so real, yet it didn't happen to anyone except those on the Enterprise. Just another one of those Q special jokes.

When Jean-Luc entered sickbay, he was immediately confined around two arms. Picard smiled and hugged her back, her being Beverly of course. When she released him, he smiled and spoke.

"I was coming for a check-up, to make sure I was all right," Jean-Luc explained.

"Who told you to come? I have to order you to come in for a routine check-up!" Beverly laughed.

"It was just me. I know the end of the universe is coming," Jean-Luc answered and walked over to one of the tables and sat down.

"Feels like it already has," Beverly replied taking out some of her medical tools and scanning the captain.

"I know what you mean. I feel like I just died, but yet here I am," Jean-Luc replied.

"Everyone here feels like that, or at least I do," Beverly answered, "You seem perfectly normal. I say some rest and relaxation is in order, but that's it."

"Is that an order?" Jean-Luc replied, not really wanting to leave the ship, since it was like home to him.

"Yes," Beverly replied and turned around to put up her tools in the kit.

"Right before the ship was 'destroyed' I realized something," Jean-Luc said standing up and adjusting his uniform to have it straight.

"Oh? And what was that?" Beverly replied.

"This," Jean-Luc answered and kissed her rose lips with his. Instead of pulling back, Beverly's eyes widened, but didn't retreat. When Jean-Luc pulled away he turned around and sighed.

"See you for breakfast?" Picard asked as if nothing had just happened.

"Y-yes," Beverly replied and blushed slightly and hid her face.

"See you then," Jean-Luc said and smiled slightly before returning to his official hard face. He walked out and went to his room, to sleep, and think.

Everything was back to normal, or better than normal, or maybe worse than normal, at least they had their planet, people and ship back. Everything seemed right.


End file.
